


Hang A Shining Star

by verucasalt123



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Community: spn_j2_xmas, Family Feels, M/M, Non-Explicit Sex, Religious Discussion, Season/Series 12 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-05
Updated: 2016-12-05
Packaged: 2018-09-06 14:15:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8755783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/verucasalt123/pseuds/verucasalt123
Summary: Castiel and Sam spend a day in bed, making the best of their time alone together and discussing the nativity, leaving Christmas shopping in more capable hands.
Giftee, I went with your likes of Sam/Cas, domesticity, and little twists on canon. I certainly hope this will make you happy.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [elenajames](https://archiveofourown.org/users/elenajames/gifts).



> I'm not an expert on Christianity. I just called the internet and picked out a bunch of random ideas about the nativity. Please don't yell at me.

Padding into the kitchen in search of coffee, Sam stopped in the hallway, once again caught a bit off guard by the fresh scent of pine from their enormous Christmas tree. 

 

It had, of course, been Dean’s idea. Some combination of having their mother back (again) and the holiday season had caused him to insist on an ostentatious yet mostly traditional Christmas celebration. 

 

Dean and Castiel picked out the tree and hauled it back to the bunker in that pickup truck Castiel was still using. While they did that, Sam drove his mother to the Concordia Wal-Mart an hour away ( _everything is at least an hour away from Lebanon_ ) to pick out ornaments and other decorations for the tree. Surprisingly, Castiel had a delightful time hanging ornaments and stringing lights. He was also pleased to see the bright star-shaped tree-topper; an angel wouldn’t have been his first choice.

 

Mary had been fascinated by the fiber optic trees, so they got her a small one for her bedroom. Just the idea of Mary having her own room in the bunker was a relief for Dean and for Sam. It represented the idea that she’d be staying there with her sons for the foreseeable future. 

 

The air around them just seemed lighter than it had in quite some time, and no one was tip-toeing around choosing careful words anymore. They’d made themselves a comfortable and loving home, and every one of its inhabitants would be enjoying it all for as long as it lasted.

 

The bunker had finally started feeling a bit more like home to Sam, and not just like a place where they worked. It helped having his mom back, and even more so that Castiel had his own room as well. Not that he’d really wanted it. 

 

“I stay in your bed every night”, Cas had declared. “Why do I need another room?”

 

And it was true, Sam did share his bed with Cas every night. Castiel’s next reason made Sam’s heart break a little bit. “Also, I have no possessions. What would I keep in a bedroom?”

 

Sam reassured him that he would have his own things over time, and that having your own space is normal and healthy. Castiel relented, though he still stayed in Sam’s bed every night. He didn’t sleep, really - just used his Grace to pull him into a deep state of meditation and reflection while Sam was sleeping. 

 

All of these things were on Sam’s mind as he prepared his coffee. He secretly loved the Keurig, which Dean insisted they buy after the fifth time Castiel somehow failed to master the skill required to make a pot of coffee. Castiel had insisted on getting a red one, and it certainly stood out in comparison to the other very basic kitchen appliances. Sam chuckled a little, then made another cup of coffee (Cas took his coffee black, no creamer or sugar like Sam’s). 

 

A note on the counter told him that Dean and Mary had left early so they could cross the state line into Nebraska. Mary wanted a mall to do her holiday shopping and Dean readily agreed to drive her there. Of course. 

 

So they’d be gone for a good while. Probably the whole day, considering that both of them required frequents stops for gas station junk food snacks. Excellent news for Sam and Cas, who rarely had much alone time. 

 

Returning to the bedroom with both cups of coffee, Sam slid back into bed and shared the good news with Castiel, who grinned and leaned up to kiss Sam’s forehead. After finishing their coffees and chatting a bit, Sam turned and gathered Castiel into his arms. It was still a rush, placing his arms around Cas in this vessel and knowing he was so much larger and stronger than he appeared. 

 

Once their clothes were abandoned on the floor, their embrace turned heated. It started with more passionate kissing, hands roaming wherever they could reach, and only became more intense as the minutes passed. 

 

Neither Cas nor Sam were the type to enjoy very slow, gentle sex. Sam had always been aggressive in bed - he was a lap sex guy, a hair-puller, not one to hold back (though of course he always had to hold back before this). Castiel had turned out to be quite demanding and impatient when it came to having his sexual desires fulfilled. They were a good match as lovers, both in and out of the bedroom. 

 

After getting cleaned up and crawling back under the covers together, Sam thought it might be a good time to bring up some holiday-related questions. These were things he’d wanted to ask Castiel for a while but it was hard to tell which questions he might try to answer and which would cause him to stay in his own bedroom with the door closed for hours.

 

“So, there were some questions I wanted to ask”, Sam started, but Castiel cut him off. 

 

“ _Christmas_ questions?”, he asked, a mischievous little smile letting Sam know that it was okay to ask. 

 

“Yeah, mostly. I mean, I know you said some things in the Bible weren’t entirely accurate. I was just wondering if this part, the birth of Jesus and all, was anywhere near a realistic accounting.”

 

Castiel sat up a bit and replied, “I have read your Bible’s accounts of what’s referred to as the nativity. The narratives of Luke and Matthew, though surely well-intentioned, are...embellished, at best. I don’t know everything surrounding the event, but I know some things, and I’ve been told some others. I’m happy to tell you what I do know. Where would you like me to start?” he asked. 

 

“Well, the beginning, I guess. Mary and Joseph had to travel a long way to get to Bethlehem when she was already pretty far along in her pregnancy, which always seemed very strange to me.”

 

“You have good instincts, Sam. When Mary gave birth in Bethlehem, it was not the City of David, the Bethlehem in Judea. There was another town with the same name there in Galilee, near Nazareth where Jesus was raised. Joseph and Mary had been visiting family members, and since there was no room suitable for delivering a baby, their relatives moved them into the guest quarters. The newborn was wrapped in cloth towels, since it was the closest thing on hand, but I have no idea why people think there was livestock present.” 

 

Sam was still listening, seeming to soak up the new information like a sponge. Shaking his head, Cas continued, “And no, these events did not occur during winter. There may have been a census somewhere around that time, but you’re correct in that it would have been very odd for a pregnant woman to stray far from home in those days.”

 

“So”, Sam said, starting his next line of questioning, “you didn’t witness any of this?”

 

“Of course not”, Cas replied. “Sam, I was a soldier, not a storyteller. It’s possible that there were angels present at this _nativity_ , but I was certainly not one of them. Over the millennia, I occasionally looked in on God’s creations, but I was never involved. I do know that the stories about people shouting at everyone who would listen that they’d seen the Son of God is not at all true. God had no desire to advertise the birth of the Christ child. The Romans who ruled that part of the world would have done anything they could to eliminate what they would have seen as a threat to their power and influence.”

 

“That makes a lot more sense to me than the stories in the gospels ever did. You know I was always a believer, but it doesn’t surprise me that some of the details were off”, Sam responded with a chuckle. He and Cas were still holding hands, propped up in bed facing each other. “What about the whole three wise men from _the East_ thing?”

 

“My understanding is that they did not arrive until Jesus was home again and at least a year old, maybe older. I’d always thought there were two, most people say three, the Bible doesn’t tell us how many there were, so there’s really no way to be sure unless you ask someone who was there. But they were from the region that is now Iran, possibly even as far as Pakistan. These men were some of the very last followers of an ancient religion centered around astrology. They did record all of this in their own sacred text, but their sect was small and most of its members and possessions were lost in an earthquake.”

 

Sam smiled and snuggled in closer to Cas. “Sorry to bombard you with all these questions, there were so many things I wanted to ask Chuck - or, well, you know - but everything was so rushed and crazy.”

 

“I wish there was more I could tell you, Sam. Most of the things I know about _religion_ , I never knew until I was on earth. There are no Bibles or churches in Heaven. Those things are for people”, Cas said as he too scooted in a little closer. “Anyway, I like the celebration. The colors and lights and togetherness and the feeling of good will. It doesn’t matter that the story’s not accurate. It makes people happy. It certainly seems to make your brother _very_ happy.”

 

Sam’s phone beeped, alerting him that he had a text. He read it with a smile and told Cas, “They’re just now taking a lunch break. We’ve got at least a few more hours.”

 

Moving his legs to straddle Sam’s hips, Castiel said, “Well, I can certainly think of some good ways to spend that time”, as he sank down and captured Sam’s lips in a passionate kiss. 

 

Hours later, Castiel and Sam had made their way to the television and were under a blanket sipping hot cocoa when Mary and Dean made it back home. Dean hauled in all of the shopping bags (believe it or not, Dean was the expert gift-wrapper of the crowd) and Mary curled up on the chair opposite them. 

 

“Well, aren’t you two just downright festive?”, she said with a very sly grin. 

 

Sam just blushed a little and looked up at the ceiling. Castiel replied, “Indeed we are. Can I get you a cup of cocoa?”

 

By the time half an hour had passed, the four of them were drinking hot chocolate and quietly enjoying each other’s company while watching The Year Without A Santa Claus. 

 

The newly formed family had hung their shining star upon the highest bough, and it was beautiful. It was everything they needed.


End file.
